Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales had some praise for a rookie quarterback following the preseason opener.
Thursday night's preseason opener between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals showcased the talents of rookie quarterbacks Carson Beck and Haynes King.
Both played fantastic in the Hall of Fame Game, giving the national audience a look at what they can do. Beck finished the game 15 of 19 with 188 passing yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 125.4.
For King, he entered the game in the second quarter, replacing Kenny Pickett. From there, he led the Panthers to a comeback win, including a game-winning rushing touchdown on the final play.
King finished the game 21-of-34 with 180 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns. He added 39 rushing yards on three carries including that final play. The quarterback earned praise from the national media as well as his own head coach Dave Canales.
But after the game, Canales also had some praise for Beck as well.
"He operated like a professional," said Canales. "He looked fantastic. He was accurate. He was on time. Our rush was decent. He got the ball out, threw some really beautiful passes down the field, up the sideline on some double moves, over the middle, to keep the drive alive in some third-down situations so tip my hat to him."
Beck and King have had two different paths to the NFL. King was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season but went undrafted. He's looking to compete for a roster spot with Carolina as he's behind both Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett.
For Beck, he transferred to Miami after playing at Georgia and helped lead the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff title game, finishing runner up to Indiana. He was taken on day two of the 2026 NFL Draft and is trying to make a case for playing time this season.
After Thursday night's game, both now have some momentum on their side. But the big thing for both King and Beck will be to take that into the rest of training camp and the next preseason games trying to level up even more and impress their teammates and coaches.
